Health Breaking News: Link 251

Health Breaking News Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Health Breaking News: Link 251

 

Guterres calls for unity, protection of aid workers on World Humanitarian Day 

Aid workers at risk on World Humanitarian Day 

China to continue efforts to implement UN 2030 Agenda: President Xi 

China can help WHO improve global health 

How can we build better partnerships for global health? 

The seven tactics unhealthy industries use to undermine public health policies 

Taking Stock of Aid Agency Evaluations in Global Health: Here’s What We Know about Evaluation Quality and What Funders Can Do Better 

Fighting Malaria is Worth Getting Stuck in the Mud 

Could GeneXpert viral load test represent a potential win-win for the TB and HIV responses? 

Drug resistant tuberculosis a major concern in Ghana 

Antimicrobial resistance: The complex challenge of measurement to inform policy and the public 

Antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae: Global surveillance and a call for international collaborative action 

The political determinants of the cholera outbreak in Yemen 

Cholera Expected to Worsen As Flooding Continues in Sudan  

Preventing spread of disease in wake of mudslides is vital, says WHO 

Democratic Republic of Congo: No water, no space – dire living conditions in Kalémie 

The United States Can Reduce Socioeconomic Disparities By Focusing On Chronic Diseases 

Colombia: People suffer high levels of violence despite peace process 

2017 Maternal Health Campaign Foreword: Since 1990, maternal deaths have been cut by half 

India grants Pfizer patent on pneumonia vaccine in blow to aid group 

Medical Education in a Changing World 

Funding For Local Public Health: A Renewed Path For Critical Infrastructure 

Dangerous global warming unstoppable without geo-engineering, says study 

Three-Dimensional Climate Clubs: Implications for Climate Cooperation and the G20 

The 9 Top Finance Guys in Environmental Philanthropy 

What I learned at the WHO Europe Summer School on Refugee and Migrant Health 

There is a major obstacle to tracking disability inclusion in the SDGs 

Mercury’s time is up as international treaty comes into force 

Tobacco Companies Fail the Corporate Social Responsibility Test of a Free-Market Advocate 

Making Smoking Cessation Work For People With Mental Illnesses And Other Vulnerable Populations 

Sesta Conferenza OMS Ambiente e Salute

…environmental degradation and pollution, climate change, exposure to harmful chemicals and the destabilization of ecosystems threaten the right to health, and disproportionately affect socially disadvantaged and vulnerable population groups , thereby exacerbating inequalities…. 
Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Ostrava, Czech Republic, 15 June 2017

by Daniele Dionisio

Membro, European Parliament Working Group on Innovation, Access to Medicines and Poverty-Related Diseases

Responsabile del Progetto Policies for Equitable Access to Health – PEAH http://www.peah.it/

Sesta Conferenza OMS Ambiente e Salute

equità e condivisione 

 

Il governo della Repubblica Ceca ha ospitato nella città di Ostrava dal 13 al 15 giugno 2017 la Sesta Conferenza Interministeriale su Ambiente e Salute della Regione Europea dell’OMS.

La Conferenza è stata organizzata dall’Ufficio Regionale OMS per l’Europa, in partenariato con l’ United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) e l’ United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Le priorità e le sfide per la salute

Le motivazioni della Conferenza discendono dall’evidenza che circa un milione e mezzo di decessi ogni anno nella Regione Europea sono causati da rischi ambientali che potrebbero essere evitati e/o eliminati. E’, pertanto, indilazionabile la necessità di intensificare il contrasto ai determinanti ambientali nocivi alla salute. Come è noto, essi includono l’inquinamento dell’aria, inadeguati servizi idrici e igienici, prodotti chimici pericolosi, rifiuti e siti contaminati, e scompensi climatici.

I vincoli di bilancio degli Stati Membri, le disuguaglianze socioeconomiche e di genere, la crescita delle patologie non trasmissibili, l’invecchiamento delle popolazioni, e un inaudito tasso di migrazione fra e dentro i Paesi della Regione hanno esacerbato cumulativamente le criticità  accennate. I complessi rapporti fra fattori ambientali, biologici, demografici, economici e sociali richiamano perciò all’urgenza di rafforzare la capacità di resistenza delle comunità verso le pressioni fisiche, naturali e sociali del 21mo secolo.

Nel corso della Conferenza i rappresentanti dei  53 Paesi della Regione hanno articolato nuove risposte a queste molteplici sfide elaborando sull’evidenza che la salvaguardia dell’ambiente è essenziale alla sopravvivenza dell’umanità. In questo spirito, accenti forti sono stati assunti sulla valenza transfrontaliera delle sfide ambientali, sulla necessità di azioni mirate non solo a livello nazionale, ma pure in ambito subnazionale e urbano, sull’importanza di identificare e tutelare le fasce più vulnerabili, e sulla imprescindibilità di una ‘governance’ aperta alla partecipazione dei cittadini e degli operatori di settore.

Lavorare in partenariato verso obiettivi globali

La Conferenza ha abbracciato la missione di promuovere sinergie chiave per gli obiettivi di salute, benessere e ambiente inclusi nel Programma ‘Health 2020’ per l’Europa e nell’Agenda 2030 delle Nazioni Unite (UN) per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile.

Focalizzando, infatti, sulla creazione di ambienti favorevoli e di comunità resistenti (fra i temi cardine di ‘Health 2020’), la Conferenza ha inteso assegnare alla strategia europea per la salute e l’ambiente il ruolo di piattaforma di implementazione, nella Regione Europea dell’ OMS, per gli inerenti goals e targets compresi nell’Agenda UN 2030 per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile.

Dichiarazione ministeriale per un’Europa protesa al futuro

Al termine della Conferenza gli Stati Membri hanno condiviso e siglato una dichiarazione comprensiva di un piano d’azione per la sua implementazione e dell’impegno di misurare e riferire sui progressi specifici attraverso i ‘reporting’ nazionali previsti per la verifica dei Goals di Sviluppo Sostenibile (SDGs) dell’Agenda UN 2030.

In armonia con lo spirito ed i contenuti della Conferenza, la Dichiarazione insiste sulla necessità che equità, inclusione sociale e uguaglianza di genere informino le politiche per l’ambiente e la salute, sull’urgenza della transizione da energie fossili a rinnovabili,  e sull’assoluta esigenza di tecnologie pulite e sicure, incluse soluzioni di ‘bassa emissione’ nei trasporti, nel contesto di un ridisegno coerente degli spazi e agglomerati urbani.

Particolare enfasi è posta dalla Dichiarazione su azioni chiave quali ‘sine qua non’ per il conseguimento degli obiettivi:

– miglioramento della qualità dell’aria  in linea con le linee guida OMS

-accesso universale, equo e sostenibile ad acqua potabile e  igiene personale e ambientale per tutti e in tutti gli ambiti

-lotta agli effetti tossici dei prodotti chimici mediante sostituzione con alternative accettabili, con stretta attenzione alle fasce più giovani e indifese

-sviluppo di programmi nazionali per l’eliminazione delle malattie legate all’asbesto

-espansione di  ambienti ‘tobacco smoke-free’, con particolare riguardo alla minore età

-prevenzione  ed eliminazione degli effetti nefasti dello smaltimento dei rifiuti, e delle connesse diseguaglianze

-applicazione in concreto dei principi e delle risoluzioni dell’Accordo sul Clima di Parigi 2015

-implementazione di coerenti ed efficaci politiche attraverso multipli livelli di ‘governance’, trasparenti assunzioni di responsabilità e migliori pratiche da parte delle leadership

-perfezionata  sostenibilità ambientale dei sistemi sanitari, inclusa la gestione dei rifiuti in termini di ridotta contaminazione esterna, oltre all’uso oculato e responsabile delle necessarie risorse e fonti energetiche.

Appropriatamente, il documento sostiene che le risoluzioni e azioni ‘ad hoc’  non possono esimersi dall’ adozione di mentalità e prassi  cooperative e multi-partecipative tese a migliorare, su base intersettoriale, la coerenza, la trasparenza, la coordinazione e la volontà collaborativa dei decisori a tutti i livelli al fine di scongiurare il rischio di duplicazione e frammentazione delle iniziative.

 

PER APPROFONDIRE

WHO Regional Office for Europe http://www.euro.who.int/en/home

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) https://www.unece.org/info/ece-homepage.html

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) http://www.unep.org/about/

Health 2020 http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-policy/health-2020-the-european-policy-for-health-and-well-being

United Nations 2030 Agenda https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld/publication

Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health http://www.euro.who.int/en/media-centre/events/events/2017/06/sixth-ministerial-conference-on-environment-and-health/read-more

Declaration of the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/341944/OstravaDeclaration_SIGNED.pdf

 

 

 

Health Breaking News: Link 250

Health Breaking News Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Health Breaking News: Link 250

 

Commission launches public consultation on food chain fairness 

South Africa: Patient groups welcome release of Draft Intellectual Property Policy 

Empowered Women Are Changing Philanthropy. These Experts Explain How 

Gates foundation to spend over $300 million in Tanzania in 2017 

Microsoft has found an inexpensive way to save lives in India 

Philanthropy King: Bill Gates Gives Away $4.6 Billion, Unveils New Campaign To Combat Malaria 

Human Rights Reader 420 

Minamata Convention, Curbing Mercury Use, is Now Legally Binding  

Is UK Aid Being Spent Properly? We Just Don’t Know 

Making America Healthy Again: Analyzing Trump’s Take On The Social Determinants Of Health 

WB: The Tech Revolution That’s Changing How We Measure Poverty 

First as tragedy, now as farce: lessons from 12 August 1982 

‘Hidden’ hunger crisis in Congo pushing it closer to famine 

Fighting famine: ‘Unprecedented crisis’ putting 20 million people at risk, warns UN agency 

The battle over the future of US food aid 

“Recovery lending” helps disaster-stricken African farmers get back on track 

The global burden of tuberculosis mortality in children: a mathematical modelling study 

Factory farming in Asia creating global health risks, report warns 

Candidiasis update: news bulletin 

‘Superbugs’ found in Brazil’s urban waters 

Yemen: aid offers ‘only hope of survival’ in cholera epidemic, says Priti Patel 

A push to end the global HIV epidemic 

WHO: Global action plan on HIV drug resistance 2017–2021 

Implementing Clinical Trials during Epidemics: The Ebola Experience 

What single health platform can support multi-sectoral collaboration and coordination on epidemics and health emergencies in West Africa? 

What lessons does polio eradication offer for global health? 

Improving the quality of WHO guidelines over the last decade: progress and challenges 

(Statement) The Medicines Patent Pool Welcomes First Generic Dolutegravir-Combination to Receive Tentative Approval from U.S. Food and Drug Administration 

IFPMA: Falsified medicines 

The War on Drugs Is Holding Science Back 

Britain spent ‘twice as much on overseas fossil fuels as renewables’ 

Private Standards, Trade, and Sustainable Development: Policy Options for Collective Action 

Health Breaking News: Link 249

Health Breaking News Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Health Breaking News: Link 249

 

US notifies UN of Paris climate deal pullout 

US will join climate talks despite quitting Paris accord 

Scientists Fear Trump Will Dismiss Blunt Climate Report 

La Relazione sullo Stato dell’Ambiente dell’Italia 

WHO: public health round-up 

Babies and mothers worldwide failed by lack of investment in breastfeeding

Stopping Epidemics At The Source: Applying Lessons From Cholera To The Opioid Crisis 

Hepatitis B spreading in Ghana due to lack of awareness 

Hepatitis E outbreak sparks concern in Lake Chad Basin 

Reducing undiagnosed HIV infection among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa: Provider-initiated and opt-out testing are not enough  

Leveraging peer-based support to facilitate HIV care in Kenya 

MSF Alert Summer 2017 – New drugs, new hope: fighting drug-resistant tuberculosis in Georgia 

Rapid Malaria Tests Work, but With Unexpected Drawbacks 

FDA Reauthorisation Act passes U.S. House and Senate without fixes to deliver urgently needed new drugs, vaccines for neglected diseases 

To Speed Access To Compassionate Use, Look Beyond The FDA 

Bernie Sanders Tells Big Pharma: Stop Making Americans Pay Twice 

Three Ways President Trump Can Make Good On His Promise To Bring Down Drug Prices  

India’s poultry industry adds to drug resistance 

Developing an IUD for Postpartum Women  

End poverty? It’s not as pie-in-the-sky as you may think 

World Bank and Food and Agriculture Organization Partner to Support Food Security in Yemen 

Hungry in a world of plenty: millions on the brink of famine 

Migrant crisis triggers heightened risk of slavery in EU supply chains, say analysts 

The Changing Landscape of Global Health Procurement: Acting Now to Prepare for the Future 

Investing in health system governance: collective action required! 

South Africa Government Completes IP Policy, Plans To Publish It This Month 

Treaty Alliance: Global Movement for a Binding Treaty 

Report Shows Benefits Of US Investment In Global Health R&D 

Contaminated Childhood: The Chronic Lead Poisoning Of Low-Income Children And Communities Of Color In The United States 

Review: Textbook of Global Health Fourth Edition, Oxford University Press 2017

Health Breaking News: Link 248

Health Breaking News Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Health Breaking News: Link 248

 

Report From WHO Fair Pricing Meeting Shows Balanced Discussion 

EU drug agency announces ‘business continuity’ plan amid relocation uncertainty 

Grantees, Reveal Thy Findings: A Push By Funders for Transparency in Medical Research 

The Senate’s Health Care Freedom Act 

Physician Workforce Trends And Their Implications For Spending Growth 

US foreign aid cuts could be a ‘death sentence’ to women in Malawi 

Ending Modern Slavery: How America is Working to Stop Human Trafficking 

The Second Edition of UNPO’s Hmong Newsletter  

Defending academic and medical independence in Turkey 

How to Develop Breakthrough Technologies for Patient Engagement 

Why developing countries get stuck with weak institutions and how foreign actors can help 

Economic reform must not be an excuse for undermining human rights 

Addressing Asia’s fast growing diabetes epidemic 

The impact of the roll-out of rapid molecular diagnostic testing for tuberculosis on empirical treatment in Cape Town, South Africa 

Decentralized care for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis 

Treating tuberculosis in Tajikistan 

HIV advocates fear US cuts and ‘gag rule’ could undermine global progress 

To end HIV, discriminatory laws must be repealed 

Q&A: Cutting testing wait times to get more infants on HIV treatment 

Malaria in China, 2011–2015: an observational study 

Heat, human odour trap breakthrough 

Yemen conflict: Cholera risk for more than a million children 

Somalia’s impossible fight against cholera 

Antimicrobial resistance: from global agenda to national strategic plan, Thailand 

Threats posed by stockpiles of expired pharmaceuticals in low- and middle-income countries: a Ugandan perspective 

Loss of fertile land fuels ‘looming crisis’ across Africa 

Forum della sostenibilità e opportunità nel settore della salute (Firenze, stazione Leopolda) 29-30 settembre 2017 

WHO Europe: Final Declaration of the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Ostrava, Czech Republic, 13–15 June 2017 

Agriculture is a Major Culprit in Climate Change. Who’s Trying to Change That? 

Dawn of new EU emissions rules could sound death knell for coal power 

How to make sure we all benefit when nonprofits patent technologies like CRISPR